


Switch

by Arisusan



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: Dialogue Heavy, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, it's truly disgusting, this makes no sense it's just pure unbridled sappiness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-20
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2019-06-30 00:15:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15740199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arisusan/pseuds/Arisusan
Summary: Skywarp and Thundercracker disprove the theory that beauty is skin-deep, or rather frame-deep, in a little discussion before recharge.





	Switch

**Author's Note:**

> ANYWAY I was wandering around the G1 section of ao3 because even though I haven't watched it, Skyfire/Starscream seemed pretty cute. And then I ran into something that featured Warp and TC in minor roles, and then I fell in love, and THEN I discovered that there's a criminal lack of these two seekers being soppy old birds while desperately ctrl+f-ing through longfics to find some mention of the two. 
> 
> This doesn't take place in any particular time or continuity, other than pre-AHM if we're talking IDW. I'm not even particularly proud of this, but I need more content and if I have to do it myself then so be it. Hope it's okay!
> 
> Note: nothing more than casual physical contact here, but you could read it as something else if you want.

"Primus, you're  _beautiful_." Thundercracker held his partner's face in his hands, one on either side of his vents.

Skywarp squirmed next to him. "That's a bit narcissistic, don'tcha think?"

"Not really."

"Oh? What's so pretty about me that isn't identical to you?" Skywarp made a face. "Or Screamer? Hey—!"

Thundercracker had slyly hooked an arm around him under the pretense of a hug, then rolled the pair of them to the side so he knelt down over Skywarp, keeping eye contact. Skywarp seemed to think his question was a challenge, but there number of answers to that question was simply astounding.

"Do you want me to tell you?"

"… _yes_ ," breathed Skywarp.

"After a rough fight, when you're covered in energon, it shines and fades right into your paint, since the colours are closer than on anyone else. Whether we've won or we've lost, you look  _iridescent_."

"I didn't think of that," mused his partner, staring at some point above his left shoulder.

"And just before you warp," he continued, moving a hand forward to trace the edge of Skywarp's wings, "There's the crackle of ozone and a little spark before you start to go, and once you're gone, there's a mist that hangs around and makes the world violet. It's almost like magic."

"More like a ghost."

"That's even better." He paused his stroking for a moment, lingering just on the wingtip, before diving back in and running all four fingers along the small groove next to the edge. "It means you're not entirely gone."

Skywarp's optics were growing brighter under him, reminding him of another answer.

"I love that you let me read you."

"You're saying that like I'm smart enough to hide it if I wanted to," Skywarp said, too distracted to be derisive. "Come on."

"Don't say that. You can fool Screamer well enough when you really need to. Him and everyone else."

"What about you, then?"

"You showed me that your optics go out of control when you feel anything strong, or when you win a game, and you let them go wild when no one's there but me. Your wings, too. You warn me when things are tense on the bridge, and when you can't reach out to me you still show me you care. I can see it on you when you're happy, when you're angry, when you're hurt."

"What can you see in me? Right now?"

Blazing optics, slack jaw, open mouth. Thundercracker brushed his thumbs across the top of each cheek, taking in the sight. "I don't know, but you seem happy."

"I  _am_  happy, you jerk."

"Good. Can I go on?"

"Whatever you want, TC."

"Very well." He moved his hands back to Skywarp's wings, focusing on the area where they joined his chassis. "You walk differently from the rest of us. Sometimes it's on your toes, sometimes you step deliberately with your heels first, like this."

He planted his thumbs down, then rolled the palm of his hand and then his fingers along the surface of each wing.

"And sometimes you're quiet," he continued, "But you always have this energy coiled up in you. You move like it's trying to get out."

Skywarp pursed his lips, fixing him with a critical stare. "That wasn't as poetic as the others."

"You love it anyway."

"Yeah. I do. Stop that!"

He dissolved into laughter as Thundercracker's fingers tickled along the seams of his chassis, not letting up until he was nearly thrown off.

"Is it my turn, now?" asked Skywarp.

"Have I proven that I'm not narcissistic?"

"No one is, if you know Screamer."

Thundercracker folded his arms, and sat back without getting off him. "You can go, then."

A playful smile opened on Skywarp's face. He'd be a liar if he said he didn't love it, but something about it ran a shiver down his spine

"'Kay."

The smell of ozone pinged his olfactory sensors and static electricity sparked between them in the same moment Skywarp disappeared from under him, reappearing beside their berth. A purple haze surrounded Thundercracker, drifting up from between his legs.

He stared at Skywarp, trying to think of something to say that would fit with his composed image, and came up blank.

"'Warp…"

"So you  _were_ telling the truth," Skywarp said with a smirk. "Now—"

He narrowed his eyes and brought his hands up to make a little box, as if to take a picture of him. Then, he placed two hands on Thundercracker's shoulders and spun him around to press him flat on the berth, mirroring his own position from a minute ago.

"What do you want me to do, 'Warp?"

Skywarp disappeared again, and reappeared on top of him, their positions reversed. "I want you to listen to me telling you what I love about you."

He dragged a finger down his front, stopping at the base of his cockpit and moving sideways, bringing his other hand down so he could trace both of his wings.

"I—"

" _Shh._ " Skywarp placed a finger over his lips. "You know how hard I am to shut up."

"Yeah, I do."

"Good. Now, I'm going to keep things simple. I'm not going to do some half-assed book stuff, like you. I'm just going to tell you some things: you respected me."

Thundercracker remembered their first meeting, the only two seekers at the Academy, and the only ones without someone else to sit with at break time.

"You protect me."

Carefully standing between Skywarp and the bridge crew, talking Megatron down from punishing  _all_ seekers and convincing him that it was someone else who was responsible for the mess.

"You stand by me."

Together through the academy training, the rebellion, and now the war.

"You talk quietly."

Doing what he could to convince him—convince them both that they'd survive this.

"You're strong."

There was no memory that he had to back this up, other than the simple fact that they'd survived this long.

"You're calm, and you don't smile often but you smile at  _me_ , and you hold me close."

All the while, Skywarp's hands had been all over him with a clumsy, soothing touch. His frame now felt like it was floating in a CR chamber, safe and separate from the world.

"' _Warp_ …"

For a moment, all he could do was stare.  _Will you go through the ritus?_ , is what he almost asked, then thought the better of it. They'd been together over a million years. They were as good as bonded, and it sometimes felt as if doing it, performing the acts would ruin it. They were together, never one without the other close behind.

"What did I say about talking?"

"You just said 'shh.'"

"Then I guess I'll just have to shut you up some other way."

Skywarp brought his right hand up to his cheek, watching him fondly, then leaned down and kissed him on his open mouth. Their lips met easily, after so much practice, though this time it was Thundercracker who deepened it, drawing closer and closer until it was hard to tell where one of them ended and the other began.

They lingered for a moment when Skywarp finally pulled away, before Thundercracker eased the tension in his cables and lowered his head back down.

"What's up, TC?"

"Hmm?"

"Your optics. They stutter when you're nervous, and relaxed enough to show it."

"I guess you'd know," he deflected.

"Come on, you know you can tell me anything."

Skywarp folded his arms, and lying pinned down with a leg on either side of him, Thundercracker had to admit his disadvantage.

"All right. I'm leaving the Decepticons."

"Dumbass," said Skywarp, a small huff of air escaping his vents. "I know you'd never do that."

"Yeah. I couldn't abandon you with Screamer."

"So what is it?"

He reset his vocalizer, trying to get rid of any static. Primus, this was embarrassing, but— _but_ —this was Skywarp. He wouldn't use it against him.

"'Warp, tonight…could you hold me?"

Skywarp stared at him for a moment, stoking the irrational fear in his spark that that was somehow asking  _too much_ , or somehow weak, or something else that straddled the line they set between them. Then, he laughed.

"TC, I thought you were going to tell me something serious!"

"Well, it isn't how we do things normally."

"Like I care. It's  _you_. That's what's normal. That's what matters. Come on."

Skywarp didn't bother to warp this time, rolling off of Thundercracker and on to his side, then pulling him closer. Their frames belonged to each other, in more ways than one, so it was easy to find a comfortable position, parts interlocking to make a combiner that hummed with a dual tone.

"I love you, 'Warp."

The grip around him tightened. "Love you too, TC."

**Author's Note:**

> Oh, the irony. Also: apologies if you have no idea what's going on with the choreography bc I don't know either


End file.
